One for the Road
by sirensbane
Summary: Kenshin really does know him way too well.


_"_Well, Jou-chan, I'm off," Sanosuke called from the gate. They'd already said their goodbyes the day before, but he couldn't resist one more look in on his friends. Kaoru was apparently taking advantage of the warm afternoon sunlight to train outside while Kenshin watched her from the porch. Yahiko was probably already at work. "Tokyo's not really the best place for me these days. Think I'll wander for awhile."

Kaoru lowered her bokken and came over. "Where are you going to get the money for that?"

He shrugged. "I'll figure something out." At her worried expression, he added, "Don't worry, Jou-chan."

She spluttered, despite the water in her eyes "Worry? All I'm worried about is that you're going to ask _me_ for the money! You free-loaders…"

Sano automatically tuned her out as she continued her half-hearted rant. He knew that Jou-chan had a kind and generous heart, even if she was a bit loud. He caught sight of Kenshin's face; the ruoruni was watching Kaoru too, obvious affection in his eyes.

"Kaoru-dono," he interrupted after a minute or two, calmly cutting through her rant. "I'm sure that Sano will manage somehow, that he will. In the meantime, Sano, please allow this one to treat you to a drink before you go."

Sano blinked. "Eh, Kenshin, you don't have to…"

"I would enjoy it, that I would," Kenshin said. "Kaoru-dono, I will begin cooking dinner when I get back."

"H-hai, Kenshin," Kaoru said. She looked as surprised as Sano was; in the weeks since Jinchuu, Kenshin had hardly let her out of his sight. "Just don't let Sano talk you into spending all your money." She clenched her fists and turned to Sano. "You be careful."

"Pff, you worry too much, Jou-chan."

"I worry just enough…"

Kenshin just smiled at her gently. "We should go soon so Sano will still have some daylight left." He turned to go.

Sano waved a last goodbye to Kaoru and followed suit. Who was he to question a good thing?

* * *

"Oi, Kenshin," Sano said, wiping his mouth and setting the sake jug down with a satisfying thud, "so when are you going to give me a rematch on our drinking contest?"

Kenshin's eyes widened. "Oro?" He had a bottle, not a jug, and was sipping demurely from an ochoko.

"Don't give me that. Last time, you just pretended to get drunk!"

"You met my shishou in Kyoto, didn't you?" Kenshin said, pulling a face. "This one would require more than a few bottles to get properly drunk, that he…that _I _would."

Sano studied the man as Kenshin took another sip. Despite the "oro" and the "this one," which were probably mostly habit at this point, this was the most sincere Sano had ever seen his friend. He wasn't pretending to be the goofy rurouni, and he wasn't sitting there glaring daggers. Just…just sitting with Sano in the little inn, drinking sake. Though Sano would never admit it, the obvious peace in Kenshin's eyes made him feel good. The guy deserved some happiness.

"Sano," Kenshin asked after a few more minutes. "Do you know which direction you will be traveling?"

Sano shrugged. "Thought I'd head towards Osaka, maybe get a boat from there. Then who knows? Maybe Korea."

"That is a very long way," Kenshin said quietly. He hesitated a moment, then added. "If you follow the Tokkaido road, there is an inn perhaps ten miles outside of Kyoto called the Hana Inn. The food is very good, and the innkeeper is, or was, welcoming of strangers."

Sano slapped him on the back, nearly causing Kenshin to spill his sake. "Thanks, Kenshin. I'll definitely check it out."

Kenshin surreptitiously scooted a little distance away before taking another sip. "However, Kaoru-dono is right," he added. "It is difficult to travel if you do not have much money, that it is." Ah, no doubt _that_ was the voice of experience. "Do you plan to do odd jobs on the road?"

Sano shrugged again, a little annoyed. "Like I told Jou-chan, I'll figure something out."

Kenshin shook his head, but his smile seemed genuine. "I have no doubt." He took once last sip of sake and then rose to his feet. "Come with me."

Sano's brow furrowed. "Eh, where are we going?"

"This one will see you to the edge of the city. There is just one place we must visit first."

* * *

Despite Sano's burning curiosity, Kenshin said nothing as they walked through the streets. The area they were in was a bit off the beaten path. At least the redhead seemed to know where he was going; Sano tended to get turned around on some of the side streets, even after having lived here for years. But what kind of errand would a guy like Kenshin have all the way out here? After about fifteen minutes, the rurouni stopped in front of a single level, slightly crooked building.

Then he fixed Sano with a determined stare. "Sano, you must not tell Kaoru-dono of this, that you must not."

Sano's jaw dropped as Kenshin turned to enter. Surely Kenshin didn't…surely this _wasn't…_ "Kenshin, I _never_ thought you liked to visit…" His eyes adjusted to the gloom and he stopped dead. "Gambling? Kenshin, Jou-chan's already kinda knows about this kind of thing."

But Kenshin was already heading for the group of guys clustered around the dice. They looked at him askance as he came up to them, but then one of them shrugged and they shuffled to make room. By the time Sano caught up, Kenshin was already sitting down, his sabakatou tucked neatly at his side, and looking up at Sano expectedly.

Ah, what the hell. Just one problem. "Eh, Kenshin…"

"I will stake you," Kenshin said calmly before Sano could put the problem into words.

Sano grinned. "Then let's get this game started!" _I guess I can wait a few more hours to leave._

The guys were nice enough, once you got to know them. Sano won the first roll, but lost the next three in a frustrating display of bad luck. Kenshin didn't say anything about it, just sat idly and sipped the cheap sake they'd been handed.

Sano groaned. 'Cho' again?

"Wanna to double your wager?" the dealer asked. The guys were all smiling and relaxed now; no doubt they were happy to have someone playing who had worse luck than they did. "Might be able to make up for your losses."

Sano frowned. He was down to less than half of what he'd started with. He glanced at his friend, but Kenshin wasn't even looking in his direction. _Why did he even come here anyway, if he's just going to sit there?_

"Fine. Double!"

The dealer shook the dice and slammed down the cup, then looked expectantly at Sano. Sano opened his mouth…

"Cho."

It was the first word Kenshin had spoken since they'd sat down. He was still sipping sake and apparently oblivious, but there was a firmness to his tone that surprised Sano. At the beginning of their friendship, he might have ignored it, but now…

"Fine then. Cho!" he said.

The dealer lifted the cup…

"Cho!" Sano said, delighted. He leaned forward to sweep up his winnings. "And I believe you said double?"

The men who'd lost groaned and ponied up.

The game continued, and money continued changing hands. "Han," Kenshin said quietly a few minutes later.

"Han!" Sano repeated, and won again. The men started to look at each other and then at Kenshin, but the redhead just continued to sip his sake.

The dice were rolled again, everyone called their bets, and Sano looked at Kenshin. Kenshin shrugged. "Han."

"Cho!" the dealer said happily as he lifted the cup, and everyone collected their winnings or grumbled as their money was swept up. Sano glanced at Kenshin in irritation…only to see a tiny smile cross the redhead's face as he took another sip. Realization struck, and he looked back at the men. Any anger they'd had over the redhead's luck was gone now, and the atmosphere was once again relaxed and friendly. _Oi…Kenshin…did you do that on purpose?_

An hour and a half after they'd sat down, Kenshin stretched his arms over his head and then picked up his sabakatou. "It is getting late, that it is," he said, though it was still several hours from sundown. "I believe we have time for one more roll."

Sano smirked. _Last roll, huh_? "What the hell," he said aloud. "How about we make it interesting?" He poured a handful of coins into the pot. "I'm feeling lucky."

Everyone but Kenshin watched closely as the dealer shook the dice in the cup and slammed it down onto the tatami mat. Then going around in a circle, they called out their bets.

Sano pursed his lips. _"_Whatcha think, Kenshin?"

Kenshin shrugged. To all appearances, he was already thinking about dinner. "We've had quite a lot of 'han' recently, that we have. Perhaps it's time for a change."

Sano smirked. "Alright then. Cho!"

The dealer moved the cup. "Cho!"

Several of the men groaned and Sano laughed as he swept up his winnings. After exchanging a number of good-natured jeers with the other guys, he followed Kenshin out the door. Sano felt a bounce in his step as they headed back to more familiar parts of Tokyo. Even with Kenshin sweeping up most of their winnings that afternoon - probably so that Sano couldn't gamble it all in the next roll - the money Sano had after the final round still jingled pleasantly in his pockets. "Well, that gives me something for the road. I still don't get why you don't want Jou-chan to know about this," he said breezily to Kenshin. "It's not like you're visiting geisha or something."

Kenshin stammered and went as bright red as his hair. "S-sano!"

Sano just laughed. "Relax, I know you'd never do that to Jou-chan. Besides, she'd kill you."

They had reached the entrance to the Tokkaido road, and Kenshin stopped and reached into his pockets. "Here." Using his shoulders to shield it from the sight of other passersby, he poured a double handful of coins into Sano's hand. "The rest of the winnings should be enough to take you to Osaka, that it should." He clapped Sano on the shoulder. "Safe travels, Sanosuke."

Sano gaped at the money in his hands. He'd known that they'd won more than they'd lost, but he'd no idea it was _this _much. "Oi, Kenshin," he called as the rurouni turned to go, "this is too much money." A nagging suspicion tugged at him: maybe Kenshin hadn't been putting the money into his pockets throughout the afternoon to keep Sano from gambling it. Maybe he'd been putting it into his pockets so the other guys wouldn't realize just how much they were _losing_. "How did we even win this much?"

Already a few steps away, Kenshin turned back a moment and blinked. "Ah, it's not so hard, that it is not," he said innocently. "At least not when you can follow the movement of the dice."

Then he walked away.

Sano stared after him as the implication registered. "Hey, wait a minute!" he yelled. "You can actually do that? All these years and you never _told_ me?!"

Kenshin grinned at the ex-fighter's indignation - no one seeing that grin would ever have mistaken him for a guileless rurouni - and turned once more for home.

* * *

_A/N: I caught the story bug and wrote this out in a single afternoon. Yet another example of one of Kenshin's old skills being useful..._


End file.
